County Extension

Cheryle Jones Syracuse
Family and Consumer Science Staff Cooperative Extension
It’s been out almost a month. I really wonder if anyone but people like me who teach nutrition and wellness and a few journalists have paid much attention.
I’m talking about the new MyPlate nutrition icon. The MyPlate icon is just that—an icon. It’s the latest replacement for the food guide pyramid.

Mechanical damage and improper care kill more trees than any insect or disease. Few residential trees die of old age. Multiple mistakes could lead to stress of a tree and possible death.
Here are some tips on how not to kill a tree:
•Do not top trees. Tree heights can be lowered by proper crown reduction that does not stimulate water sprout production. Cutting a tree too severely only promotes entry for diseases and insects.

Have you ever walked out into your garden and found half-eaten plants in your landscape? If so, you, like many other residents, may be experiencing deer browsing.
Deer populations are increasing and conflicts between deer and landscaped spaces are expected to increase as more rural areas develop. There are many perspectives on how wildlife interactions affect lives and properties. Some people enjoy seeing the deer in their yards and other people get extremely mad when the deer are browsing on their landscape plants.

Judy Koehly
Master Gardener
Organic gardeners depend on compost to grow their plants, but it is not the amount of nutrients in the compost that makes it so valuable. The fertility content of homemade compost is extremely variable (depending on the ingredients used to make it), and generally quite low.

The Youth Livestock Show at the state fairgrounds in Raleigh June 3-5 included steer and breed shows, showmanship competition, skill development, leadership development and family activities that involve cattle. The North Carolina Junior Beef Round-Up is planned and run by a group of juniors from throughout North Carolina, their breed advisors, the Purebred Breeders Council, the North Carolina Cattlemen’s Association and the NCSU 4-H and Youth Livestock Department.